I don't understand why WS keyboards don't have arranger abilities. It is trivial to add them, simply just a little more ROM space. It isn't rocket science. Why doesn't a Motif have the ability to call up arranger styles. Maybe it is nothing more than a marketing decision.

i am sure thats the reason Nigel but mark my words, we will see pretty much full arranger capability on workstations before the decade is out.

Karma technology has already been exported to yamaha workstations and James from Korg forums already demonstrated how quickly it could be adapted to arranger style play . so that capability has already been licensed for two of the top 3 workstation makers .

exciting times are ahead for arrangers.

What seems to be missing isn't the CONTENT... Those are MIDI files, easily ported. Your basic problem with WS's is that they use an arpeggiator paradigm for playing things. Chords are not revoiced into instrument accurate voicings, lines are not played with voice leading, and patterns don't drop in on each other (like calling up a fill in the MIDDLE of a bar) and go to a particular destination (like a fill that changes to another variation, or an Intro that goes to the selected variation).

The mode of operation is far more computer-like, cuing up 'chunks' in advance, rather than the natural, musical flow of arranger operation.

Will it ever change? I have my doubts. Unfortunately, WS's are primarily sold to people who have NEVER played an arranger, and their needs, rather than ours, becomes a priority for the manufacturers.

But make no mistake... there is a TON of stuff that an arranger does that you never even think about (voice wrapping, complex chord generation, incorrect note correction etc..) that WS's have not even STARTED to address. I have my doubts they ever will...

I post it once but clicked 4 times, I guess.Can't deleted it.
Not a substitue but , still you have something with both bass and drums patterns following (no fills /intro/ending ofcourse.) Mic input with EFX helps too (too bad only vocoder and no VH). 15 Ib for 61 keys ( newly developed ? - I hope it's better that MO6 which is better than M50)and 32 Ib for 88 keys is very interesting.

Great piano sound, I must admit. I love the color black and seperate foot controller in ( plus assign F/S and Damper in) too. And yes it's still 64 poly (says 124 poly for SeQ).

http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/synthesizers/mox/

Street price should be $ 1000 or $ 1100 max.


88 keys version can be the killer for P 155 , CP 33 and even more expensive (sub $2000 CPs) because of the weight and funtionality.

http://www.yamahasynth.com/library/2d_product_photo/synthesizers/mox/

Because it would immediately be regarded as an ARRANGER.....with 'deep' editing capabilities . And we all know that that's the kiss of death in the WS-oriented 'youth' market. Plus, all the added WS goodies would be the kiss of death in the arranger-oriented elderly market . Let's face it, young people want unlimited choices, old folks want simplicity in the form of fewer choices (see how many over 60 folks are waiting in line at the next new iphone introduction). Fran still has a corded phone........with rotary dial .

Nope. Never going to happen. Like trying to combine a VW bug with a Lincoln Town Car to make a 'car for the masses'. Different strokes for decidedly different folks.

chas

What is even stranger is that Korg make the PA2Xpro (and now the PA3Xpro) and it is advertised (or spoken of in less than hushed tones here on SZ) as an Arranger Workstation with "deep editing capabilities"...guess it doesn't matter to the "aged" market...in fact it appears to be selling rather well to old farts and young farts equally well.

I believe that eventually, dedicated workstations will be able to play and load styles...on the Korg, they just have to rub out the word "Arranger".

Ian

Precisely Ian !

Kronos is a Workstation

PA3x is an Arranger

Crossing the Arranger name off a PA3x doesn’t make it into a Kronos.

Unless you consider that the PA3x can do everything (And sound as good) that a Kronos can of course. (The answer BTW is NO, it can’t)

No matter which way you look at it, Arrangers are NOT Workstations (Not even close) with Styles.

Bill

No one said it did, Bill.

A Kronos uses completely different voice architecture.

However, the Korg PA3XPro has editing on par with other Korg workstations...n'est-ce pas?

It has full arranger functions...with me so far?

Does it lack some workstation features? Maybe, depending on which workstation you compare it to, but it still can be used as one.

Does a workstation lack features the PA3XPro has? Yep. No auto-accompaniment for starters.

You see Bill, my analogy was simply to point out that arrangers (especially in the PA3Xpro's case) are probably closer to workstations, than one likes to believe.

I don't have a problem with that, and apparently, neither does Spalding or many more on this forum.

Ian

Hi Ian

I understand where you are coming from, however I have been using VST instruments for over 12 years now (Long before I had the Wersi to load them into) and modern hardware Workstations are still behind there software counterparts, therefore I am familiar with the editing and performance capabilities of both arrangers (Of which the Korg is one of the most advanced) and Workstations.

Having experience of both, I can give you a 110% absolute total guarantee, that there is no hardware arranger that comes anywhere close to Workstation editing and performance, (Not even the Korg) no matter what Arranger players would like to believe.

Simple facts I am afraid

That the 2 could be combined in the future, then yes, quite possibly, but for now they are miles apart.

I hope the above shows where I am coming from on this subject, rather just random postings

Bill